Help
by etsunara
Summary: Roy has a sister, Tea Mustang, who goes to her brother for help because of certain problems happening in their hometown. But, as the Brigadier General, he can't leave Central. So he sends someone else. THIS IS EDXOC NOT EDXROY.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so this takes place after the movie, but since I think the ending of the movie is stupid (hey! It's Fullmetal ALCHEMIST! Not Fullmetal I'm going to go trap myself in a different world and never use alchemy again! So, Ed gets to stay in Amestris and use alchemy) they sealed the portal off on just their side. I honestly think that would work, because the other side can't use alchemy, but, hey, I'm not the artist and I didn't come up with the plot, so I guess I don't get a say in it. Speaking of which, here's my disclaimer:**

**Okay, come on, people, do you REALLY think I own this? Of course not. I do not own Fullmetla Alchemist, or Roy Mustang, or Edward Elric (unfortunately).**

**Oh, also, this is an EdxOc pairing. ENJOY!**

I leaned against the stone wall, staring at her dead body, a troubled look on my face.

Who did this? I wondered to myself.

Could it have been alchemy? But, no, her body was cut up by what seemed to be a sword.

"Tea, you done yet?" Scotty asked me.

"Huh?" His voice dragged me out my thought. "Uh, yeah, I guess so. I can't seem to gather anything from this."

"Well, I'll take her to the morgue, then," he replied, covering the body and taking her away.

I nodded, though I doubted he saw it. Marissa Shar. She was a good girl, smart, pretty, and rich. Why would someone kill her? And who? Maybe it was time to see _him_ again.

"No," I said out loud. Everyone had gone home by now, so no one heard me. So I thought. "I won't resort to him. Besides, he wouldn't come all the way out to our sad hometown."

"You talking about your brother, girly?" A cold voice said.

I looked around, straightening, my thumb subconsciously rubbing my ring on my index fing with my transmutation circle on it. "Who's there?"

"No one in particular," the voice said. "But why does it matter to you? Since you know about my existence, I have to kill you."

"All I knew before you said that was that you existed," I said. "I never saw you as a threat until you said you were going to kill me. I was perfectly willing to brush this situation aside."

"A little late for that now," he said in mock sadness.

"Well, since you're going to kill me, why don't you show your face?" I asked.

"Hmm… I guess that wouldn't be a problem, would it?" A figure landed in front of me. He had spiky black hair, was wearing what seemed to be a tight, black, polyester jumpsuit thing, he had purple eyes, and he was quite the looker.

"Do you have a name?" I asked.

He hesitated, before saying, "Greed. The start of a new generation of homunculi."

Did he just say… "Homunculi?" I tried to back away, but the wall was right behind me.

Okay, now I'll go talk to Roy, I reasoned.

If you survive, my not-so-supportive side said.

Oh, shut your pie hole! I told it.

I had to move quick to survive this fight. I didn't need to kill him, just get him away from me, so I could get to Roy.

Just as he was about to stab me with his sword - I knew it! I cheered in my head - I spun to the side and clapped my hands together and slammed them into the ground. I was an earth alchemist, sister to the one and only Flame Alchemist.

I knew the wall of dirt wouldn't last for very long, so when I took off running I ran through the closest door I could. Coincidently, that door was to the back of the train station. Also coincidently, the train was just leaving.

There's something to be said about the Mustang Luck, my optimistic side thought as I hurried to jump onto the back of the train.

Yeah, but Roy seems to plan all of his 'luck', my less optimistic side said.

Oh, shut it! I shouted at it as I walked down the cars. I stopped at the very front car, where the conductor was.

I knocked, and one of the conductors assistants opened the door.

"Hey, Tea, what brings you on this train?" He asked. I was famous around town, but not for my alchemy skills (thought I think I might be famous for the lack of them). I was famous for my forensic skills. I was the best detective in this town (and possibly the only, at least in my generation). I solved crime after crime, and the town loved me for it. "Did you solve the murder?" He asked. Murders weren't common here, I mostly caught thieves.

"Actually, yes, I did," I said. "But you're not going to like the answer."

"Who did it?" The conductor, Drew, asked.

I blatantly ignored him. "Where is this train going?"

"To Central," Drew replied. "But what about that murder, Tea?"

I ignored him again. "Thanks, Drew." I turned, waiving over my shoulder, and leaving.

* * *

><p>"So this is Central?" I wondered aloud. This was my first time here. After my brother left to become a Dog of the Military, I didn't speak to him. I hated him for what he did. Okay, I didn't hate <em>him<em> just his decision.

Though it was my brother I was seeing, I was suddenly worried with my appearance. I looked down at my black mini skirt and knee-high black heeled boots, and my tight, black tank top. I hoped this was acceptable appearance to meet with a General.

What are you so worried about? My motherly questioned. Incase you were wondering, my brain had many sides. This is _Roy_ we're talking about.

Yeah, you're right, I agreed with myself. I quickly set off for Central HQ, my mid-back length black hair blowing gently in the slight wind. My black eyes filled with determination. He just had to help. He had to.

As soon as I walked out of the train station, I realized: I had no idea where the Military HQ was.

"Damn it," I said under my breath. When it came to getting directions, I was just as stubborn as most men. "Come on, Tea, Central HQ can't be _that_ hard to find. In fact, it should be easy."

"I'm sorry, did you say you were looking for Central HQ?" A man behind me asked.

I turned to see a tall, muscular man in a military uniform. He had a blond mustache, and a blond strand of hair on top of his head.

"Um, yes," I said. "Uh, sir," I added hastily. "Yes, sir, I am. Could you help me?"

"Of course, miss, I would love to help you," he said. "My name is Alex Louis Armstrong, the Arm Strong Alchemist. Please, follow me."

"Thank you very much, sir," I said, more grateful that he approached me, rather than actually being grateful for him helping me.

"If you don't mind my asking, what do you need to do at HQ?" He asked, slightly turning his head back to look at me.

"Uh, um," I hesitated. I was pretty sure he was high ranking officer, but I wasn't sure if I could trust him. "It's, uh, personal business." I really hoped that was enough to satisfy him.

"Understood, I will not pry," he said, returning his attention to the front.

I gave small sigh of relief.

We where at Central HQ in a matter of minutes.

That was easy, I thought to myself.

"Here we are, miss," he announced.

"Thank you very much," I said with a bow. Wait, was I supposed to salute him?

Too late, my critical side scolded. He's leaving.

Oh, well, time to see Roy.

I walked up the steps, entered the building, and walked up to the desk where a secretary was sitting.

"May I help you, miss?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm here to see Brigadier General Mustang," I said. I might not have talked to him since I was seven (that makes it about eleven years, which makes me eighteen), but I kept up with the news. I knew his rank.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked.

I needed an appointment. "Uh, yeah, I do," I lied, hoping she wouldn't check.

"Okay, go right ahead," she said, giving me the directions to his room.

She must be new, I thought. Why else wouldn't she check?

She saw the resemblance? My snarky side (yes, I believe that's the right word for it) said. I could practically see the smirk.

It wasn't until I passed through the door that led to his wing that I was actually stopped. When I entered, I paused, looking around. There was red carpet on the floor, and some paintings here and there, but other than that, not much décor. I looked at all the doors, and then saw his. The farthest one from me, with a plaque reading "Brigadier General Roy Mustang". I immediately headed for it, only to be stopped by a secretary at a desk next to his door (who I didn't even notice until she stopped me).

So close, I thought with my hand on the door.

"Do you have an appointment, ma'am?" She asked.

"Yes?" I said, but I was afraid it sounded too much like a question.

"Name?"

"Uh, Tea?" I said.

She looked through a rather large book. "There is no 'Tea' here, ma'am. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She stood up and blocked the door.

"Please, I need to speak with him! It's life or death!"

"I'm afraid not, ma'am," she said, not moving. "Please leave before I call security."

"Let me through!" I was starting to shout. One thing Roy and I had in common was our temper control, or lack of it, as it be.

"This is the last time I will ask you to leave," she said. I could tell she was angry, but she had better control than me. "Please leave before I call security."

I was about to push her aside and enter when the door opened. There stood Brigadier General Roy Mustang. My older brother.

Of course, being his younger sister, naturally, the first thing I did when I saw him was laugh.

"I knew I recognized that temper," he said irritably. "What are you laughing at?" He half asked, half screamed.

"You're eye!" I finally got out. I could see a vein popping on his forehead.

"Sir, I'm terribly sorry," the secretary said. "I'll call security."

"No, no," Roy said, still angry. "I have time. Come on in, you little brat." Still giggling, I followed him.

He sat down at his desk and turned waited for me to cool down. Instead, I laughed harder. There was that popping vein again.

"What are you still laughing at?" He shouted.

"Y-y-your e-e-eye!" I stuttered through my laughs.

"Yes, what about it?" He growled.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Is it a new fashion statement or something? The eye patch?"

He sighed. "What are you doing here, Tea?" He asked.

I was about to talk when the door opened.

"Sir, I have your-" A female voice started, but then stopped. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all, Hawkeye," he said. "Are those the papers I need?"

"Yes, sir!" She said, walking over to the desk. She had a brisk, military walk, and she seemed like the kind of person who kept to the rules. She had blonde hair pulled back by a clip, brownish eyes, and she was very pretty. As she handed Roy the (rather large) stack of papers, she gave him a look. A kind of who-is-this-person look.

"Hawkeye, meet my little brat of a sister," Roy said.

"Brat?" I asked irritably, my anger vein popping.

Everyone else in the room looked up.

"Sister?" A guy with glasses and black hair piped up.

"Mustang has a sister?" The other guy in the room said. He had blonde hair, and was smoking a cigarette.

"Unfortunately," Roy said.

"Unfortunately?" There goes another vein. And a third one at his smirk. "You… you… you… DESERTER!"

"Excuse me?" Roy stood up in anger.

"You heard me!" I shouted. "Deserter! You left me, mom, and dad! Not to mention our whole town! Which is the reason I'm here!"

"What, did a building burn down and now you're trying to blame me?" He asked in a teasing voice.

"No," I said angry. "A homunculus killed Marissa."

**A/N: Ahaha, cliffy! Although, I feel kinda bad because I probably won't update. Sorry, guys, Spring Break is over, and I have work and school to worry about.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: By the way, I forgot to mention that Tea and Roy's hometown is a two day train ride from Central. My bad.**

**Disclaimer (the nice way): I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. Only Tea Mustang (plus the OC's from their hometown, and any other OC(s) I come up with, if any)**

"A homunculus killed Marissa!" I shouted at him. "Do you remember her? Or have you forgotten all about home?"

"A… homunculus… killed Marissa?" He asked dumbly. "Marissa, the bakers daughter?"

"Yeah, the girl who declared her undying love to you the day before you left," I told him.

"How do you know it was a homunculus?" He asked, suddenly serious.

"He confronted me," I said. "When I turned twelve, I started training under the head detective. I took over for him when I was fifteen. So, naturally-"

"You were a detective at fifteen?" He asked. "Tea, that's too dangerous."

"So is being a Dog of the Military," I said. "Now, are you going to let me tell my story or have you finally decided to start acting like a brother?"

"Sorry, go on," he said, though he didn't look too sorry. Just angry that I was the head detective.

"As I was saying, being the head detective, naturally I was at every crime scene," I said. "This one was no exception. After Scotty bro-"

"That old geezer's still alive?" Roy asked, an amused look on his face.

"Roy, if you're so damn curious about home," I said irritably. "THEN JUST COME HOME!" I slammed my fist on his desk. "Please, let me finish, this is serious!"

"Sorry," Roy said. But he was smirking.

Damn my brother. Damn him to hell. WAIT! No, I take that back, I need him. "Anyways, Scotty took her body to the morgue, but I was still there. I just couldn't figure out how she was killed. My theory is she was stabbed. Well, it looked more like cut up. I haven't proved her cause of death for sure, but I've gotten as close as I can with out actually asking the homunculus himself. He did have a sword with him"

"Did the sword have blood on it?" Roy asked.

"I couldn't tell, it was too dark."

"And you talked to him, did you?"

"Yeah, well, it was more like he talked to me," I explained. "I guess he was hiding on the roof of a building or something." I proceeded to explain about how he asked if I would see Roy, and how he threatened to kill me, and my escape to Central.

"Hmm…" Roy thought about what I just told him. "But who created it? You're the only alchemist there, aren't you?"

"Don't blame this on me, Roy," I said. "You and I both know that I don't have the alchemy skills for that."

"Do you have any leads at all?" Roy asked.

I sighed. "None. Although, I have to, uh, well, I think I made a mistake."

"A… mistake? That's not like you," Roy teased.

"I was in such a rush to get help, I kind of forgot to see if the homunculus followed me." I sheepishly rubbing the back of my head.

"Somehow I doubt he'll follow you," Roy said.

"Why?" I asked. "He seemed dead set on killing me."

"Because he's after the town, I think," Roy said. "Call it the Mustang hunch, but I think he'll stay there. Though it would make our lives easier if he came here."

"I know," I sight. "Roy, if you can't come, then who will? You know I can't deal with this myself."

"I have an idea," he said. "But I can't promise anything, he's already given up his position as a State Alchemist, so he's under no obligation to do what I say."

"Sir," the woman named Hawkeye piped up. "You don't mean…?" She trailed off in question.

"That's exactly who I mean, Hawkeye," Roy said, standing up. "Come on, brat, we're going on a walk. Havoc, do you know where Breda and Falman are?"

"At home, I think, sir," the blond smoker, apparently Havoc, replied. "Lieutenant Hawkeye let them go home when they finished their work."

"And you two haven't finished?" Roy asked.

"Correction," Hawkeye said. "Havoc hasn't. I don't know what Fuery is still doing here."

I guess that makes the black haired man Fuery.

"Then that's our first stop," Roy said. "Come on, team." He marched to the door and opened it, Havoc, Fuery, and Hawkeye filing out. They paused to look back half way down the wing, and Roy looked at me. "Coming, brat?"

"I wasn't aware I was invited." I glared at him, then I marched out of the room with Fuery, Havoc, and Hawkeye in front of me, and Roy right behind me.

We had stopped at Falman's house first. He looked kind of old and had grey hair with black roots. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't in his uniform. Instead, he was wearing grey pants, a brown shirt with a grey jacket over it, and brown shoes. Breda was the other man we picked up. He had on a brown t-shirts, jeans, and black boots.

Now we were off to… uh… "Hey, Roy!" I called out. Somewhere along our trip he had moved to the front of the pack, and left me in the back.

"Yeah?" He asked, not even looking back.

"Where are we going?"

"Interesting question," he said. "If you're as skilled a detective as you say, you should know something about the Fullmetal Alchemist. Shouldn't you?"

"Um." I stopped moving to think. And everyone stopped to. Roy finding his way back to me. "Well, I know everyone calls him the Alchemist of the People. Or something like that. They say that even though he's a dog of the military, he still knows what's right. Unlike somebody." I glared at Roy.

"Hey, just because I don't come home doesn't mean I don't know what's right," he said.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "Anyways, I know he can do transmutations without circles, an impressive feat indeed. But other than that, I don't know much. I was too busy catching thieves to worry about an alchemist who I probably would never meet."

"His name is Edward Elric," Roy said. "Feel free to call him 'shortie' or 'midget' or something along those lines." With that Roy headed back up to the front of the group and we started moving.

"Don't listen to him," Hawkeye said, startling me. "Don't call Ed short unless you're looking to get yelled at, hit, or both."

"Lieutenant, with all due respect, this is my brother we're talking about," I said. "Why would I listen to him?"

With that, Hawkeye laughed. But then she noticed me staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Um, nothing, it's just that you look vaguely familiar."

"Oh, yeah, well, that's because I grew up in the same town as you," she said. "We would see each other from time to time when you came by to try and get the General to come home, but we never really talked much."

"Oh," I said. "I guess I was too young to really remember that."

"We're here," Roy announced, loud and clear. He knocked on the door, and a shot kid with a blond braid, amber eye, and tight black pants and shirt opened the door.

"General, what are you doing here?" He asked. This must be Ed. "I quit yesterday."

"Who is it, brother?" Another kid appeared, wearing brown shorts and a green t-shirt. He had the same eyes as Ed, and the same hair color, but his hair was shorter.

"I have a request for you, Ed," Roy said.

**A/N: I figured that this was a good place to stop if I was going to update in the near future. Also, I fixed a few things in the last chapter. Mostly just grammatical errors, but I did add some things. Just Fuery's presence, really. But it'll help you understand this chapter a bit better (I think). Thank you for reading, and thank you for the two reviews I got. A big thanks to my first two reviewers: Oh Brother, and my dear, sweet Akito! Thank you for taking the time to read my story and reviewing!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Does anyone know if Al was able to do transmutations with out a circle in the Shamballa movie? I feel like he could, but I don't really remember.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"I have a request for you, Ed," Roy said.

"I'm not interested in anything military related," Ed said.

"At this point, the only way it's linked to the military is through my sister," Roy said. "At least listen to the request. Is that so hard to do?"

Ed sighed. "I guess not." He stepped aside, allowing Roy and company to enter.

He followed us to the living room where everyone but I made themselves comfortable. I stood against the wall, waiting for what would happen next.

It. Was. Silent.

I cleared my throat. "I know you've retired from being a State Alchemist, but if you're still a man of the people, I'd like your help." I was staring at the ground while saying all this.

"With what?"

Before I could speak, the younger boy came in with two trays. One with a pot of tea and milk and sugar on it, the other with nine tea cups. Everyone helped themselves except for me and Ed. The boy brought a cup over.

"Oh, um, no thanks," I said with a smile. So he brought it to Ed, who took it an sipped it. "I need help to get rid of a homunculus."

Ed spit out the tea that he wasn't choking on and dropped his cup. When he finally was able to speak again, he stuttered, "H-h-homunculus? I thought they were all gone!" He turned to Roy for an answer, but I spoke up instead.

"He said that he was a new generation of homunculi," I explained, still staring at my feet.

"It wouldn't be one you knew, Edward," Roy said. "You killed them all. Didn't you, pipsqueak?"

A vein on Ed's forehead popped, but other than that, he didn't show his anger. This was serious. 'Of course I did," Ed retorted.

"I know it's not your job or duty anymore, Ed," I said. "But please, since Roy can't come home and help me, you have to, or else I'm afraid the whole town will be massacred. I can find out who's behind this and what their plan is, but I can't fight them. I'm not skilled enough in alchemy to kill a homunculus. Please, I'm begging you." I finally looked him in the eye.

Our eyes met, and there was… something. I don't know how to describe it. It was like some kind of connection between us.

He sighed. "I, uh, I guess there's no harm in looking into it. But if I find out that there's something military related behind this, I'm out of there. And you're coming in, got it Mustang."

"I'm not part of this negotiation, Elric," Roy said.

"He's got a point, Roy," I said. "As Brigadier General, I believe it's your job, isn't it?"

He sighed. "I guess. But there's no way it's military related," he said. "I would have heard something about it."

"Yeah, like last time?" Ed questioned.

"That was when I was a Colonel, Ed. Now I'm a Brigadier General," he said, somewhat smugly.

I sighed. "Will you help me, Ed?"

"I already told you that I would check it out."

"Thank you," I said. "You have to understand that this is my home, the town's people are like my family. With Mother and Father dead, well, besides Roy, they're the only family I have left. And now some homunculus is running around killing people.

'Wait, your parents are dead?" Hawkeye asked. "I thought you said Roy deserted you and your parents"

"He did," I said. "It's hard to explain, you wouldn't understand. I need to use the bathroom, where is it?"

Ed pointed down the hall. "It's the door at the right at the end of the hall."

I nodded and left, just as I past out of sight, I heard Havoc and Roy talking.

"When did your parents die, General?" Havoc asked.

"She was five, and I was nineteen," Roy said. I froze where I was. What would he say about that time? But he didn't continue.

"After his parents died, he spent a lot more time learning alchemy from my father," Hawkeye said. "He basically abandoned her."

"Why?" Havoc asked.

"None of your bus-" Roy started.

"I think it was to distract himself," Hawkeye said. "But you shouldn't have left her alone like that, Sir."

"She had Shelly, she wasn't alone," Roy said.

"She was alone from true, blood family," Hawkeye said. The room grew silent and I hurried to the bathroom. I was fighting back tears. I thought I had gotten over mom and dad's deaths. Maybe I had. Maybe I still felt abandoned by Roy. After nearly three years of non stop studying, I heard that his teacher died. But Roy didn't even come home to say good bye to me before he left. I did feel abandoned. I still do.

I couldn't stop the tears from coming. Instead of going to the bathroom, I just curled up on the floor and started crying. I guess all the tears I had been holding in for thirteen years came out. After the tears dried up (it must have been nearly an hour) I just laid there. I'm not sure when, but someone came in, picked me up, and carried me down the hall. My eyes were open, but I was so numb I didn't really see anything.

"General, do you want me to take her to your house?" It was Hawkeye.

"My house? Why mine?" Roy asked.

"She's your sister, sis," Hawkeye said.

There was a sigh. "Fine, I'll take her," I felt myself lifted from Hawkeye's arms. Roy held me close to him, and I was somehow able to wrap my arms around him through the numbness. The first hug my brother had given me in years. Well, it was pretty close to a hug. "You two will leave tomorrow, Ed. Okay?'

"Yeah," Ed said quietly.

I knew we were at Roy's house when I was laid down on a bed.

Ed's kind of cute. The last thought I had before falling asleep.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, and sorry if it's kind of short. I hope you enjoyed it, still. Please review! Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here we go again! Enjoy! Oh, I just want you guys to know, there will be a bit of mystery in here, later on, but I'm not really good at mysteries. I haven't read any mystery books, I've watched some movies, but I just kind of go with it and I don't really figure it out. All I'm saying is, don't kill me if the mystery I come up with is shitty. I try my best, and don't forget the purpose of this story: ED AND TEA! Also, I don't wanna give anything away, but there MIGHT be some RoyxRiza in here. I love that pairing, so I might just do that. Okay, now you can enjoy :D**

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing but Tea, and the random OC's I put here an there.**

I sat on the train across from Ed and Al (I learned his name this morning). We were on the way to my home. I still couldn't forget the conversation I overheard between Ed and Roy this morning when I finally got up.

**~Flash Back~**

"Look, Ed, it might not be your job to take orders from me anymore," Roy said, sounding stressed. "But, please, take care of her. I don't want my sister to be the next victim of that homunculus."

"Wow, General, wasn't aware that you cared," Ed said teasingly.

"Ed, there's a reason I haven't visited, and it's not because I don't care," Roy said.

"And what's your reason?" Ed asked the question I wanted to ask.

"None of your business," Roy snapped. "Just, promise you'll keep an eye out for her. Please?"

Ed heaved a sigh. "Fine."

That was when I made my presence known by coughing and stretching loudly.

**~End Flash Back~**

I stared out the window. It was a silent ride the whole way back home until the very last hour of the last day (in other words, we were an hour away from my home).

"So, Tea," Ed started. I looked at him in question. "When we get to your place, I know you asked us to just do all the fighting, but while Al and I are here, we might as well help you investigate. What do you say?"

I hesitated. It wasn't in my nature to allow help, but something about Ed made me trust him. "I guess there's no harm," I said slowly. "But you do the investigation my way. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure," Ed said.

The silence came again, and followed us off the train.

We were about half-way to my house when Scotty came running up to us.

"Tea! Where on Earth have you been?" He half asked, half yelled breathlessly to me. "Never mind that! There's been another murder while you were gone. Come quickly."

Another one? "When?" I asked, following him.

"I'm not sure when, maybe during the night," Scotty informed me as he lead me to the crime scene. "But Elisa found her this morning. On her way to the Smithy."

"Who?"

"Leah."

"The Smith's daughter? Why her?" I wondered aloud. Scotty knew me well enough to know that I was just taking mental notes, and not actually expecting an answer from him.

"Here we are." We arrived at a taped off area the I bypassed. Ed and Al tried to follow, but Scotty stopped them.

"Hold on, only Tea and her team is allowed past this point," Scotty said.

"We are her team," Ed tried to reason.

"Ha! Like hell you are! She doesn't have a team!"

"Scotty, I do now. Now let them through, they're going to help here." As the detective, I was allowed to boss people around when it came to crime scenes. Scotty allowed Ed and Al to pass, but he wasn't very happy about it.

Leah's blonde hair was stained red, and her face, arms, legs, and, well, most of her body was cut up. But all of her body parts seemed to be in tact. It seemed that someone had slashed the top of her head with a sword, and that was why her hair was stained.

"There isn't much I can get here besides that it's him," I muttered to Ed and Al.

"Do you have any leads on how to find him?" Ed asked.

"I've been thinking about that. A homunculus is created by failed human transmutation, right?" I asked,

"It could be seen as a failure, I guess," Ed said. "But it's the closest we alchemists will ever get to bringing someone back. And it sounds like this guy wasn't a mistake. What did he say? That he was the start of a new generation of homunculi?" I nodded. "Well, it sounds like we're wasting our time here. We need to figure out who this homunculus is, who created him, and why they would want a new generation of homunculus."

"Alright, then," I said, turning away from Leah's cut up body. I looked up to Scotty, and spoke so he could hear me. "We're done here, Scotty."

"You sure?" He asked. I nodded, and he began the process of cleaning up the crime scene and bringing Leah's body to the morgue.

I led the Elric brothers to my house. It was a mansion, the large building was shaped in a 'U' and there was a wrought iron fence surrounding it. The building surrounded a court yard that had lush green grass, and a few tall trees here and there.

"Welcome to the Mustang Manor," I said, leading the two boys (who couldn't seem to close their mouths) into the kitchen of the manor. "What do you guys think?"

"You live here alone?" Ed asked, awestruck.

"Well, besides the servants, yeah," I said.

"Isn't it lonely?" Al asked.

"A little," I said with a shrug. "But it's no big deal. I would be alone either way because I spend most of my day in the office or out investigating. I've cut the servants jobs, too. They're only required to clean the kitchen, living room, my bedroom, and a guest room. Speaking of which, you two don't mind sharing a room, do you?"

"Not at all," Ed said, snapping out of his stupor.

"Are you two hungry? I would like to start working as soon as possible, and I don't allow food in my study."

"Um, no, thanks," Ed said.

"Yeah, let's just get to work," Al agreed.

I nodded and led the boys out of the kitchen and through the dining room. From there we walked down a long hall carpeted red, and entered through a large oak door at the end of the hall. My study was large, of course, and was also a library. There were towering shelves filled with books, non-fiction and fiction alike. We walked towards the back, where my desk was.

"How many books do you have?" Ed asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea."

"What are they about?" Al asked.

"Some are about alchemy, some are about detective work, some are math and physics books, and some are just plain, old fashioned fictional stories," I replied. "But there's a lot more that just that."

"I bet," Ed asked.

"Feel free to read any of them if we're not working," I said. We had just reached my desk, which was, you guessed it, very large. It was also very cluttered. "Well, let's get started."

**A/N: I felt it was a good stopping. I apologize for the late update. Just so you know, I've been dealing with certain… problems. I don't really feel like talking about them, but because of them, I might not be updating a lot. I just need some time to sort things out. I'll try to update, but please try to understand (as best you can with the information I have given you) if I don't. This isn't really school related, it's a bit more personal, but if I stop updating and seem to disappear… that's why. Sorry, guys. Shit happens, and I've got to learn to deal with it. It's just difficult. Sorry, guys. I hope I can keep updating.**

**Oh, I just wanna say, I feel like there might be some darker, more mature rated (aka M rated) themes coming up. Not like sex or anything (eeeewwww, lol), but like, blood/violence kind of dark themes. So, if the rating suddenly changes to M (I'm pretty sure it's rated T right now) that's why. I'm not trying to scare readers away, I just… well, I have my reasons.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oh my goooood! My World History teacher seriously needs to update my test grade. If I get a good grade, I've decided to reward myself by checking out the CoS. I know I said I didn't like the movie, but Ed is totally hot in that movie, plus, I like the majority of it, I just think Ed should have stayed in the alchemy world. HELLOOO! Fullmetal ALCHEMIST! Le duuh! Gosh -shakes head at idiot writers- Anyways, I own nothing, please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Read above paragraph**

"Okay, so both victims have been exactly thirty years old," Ed said looking over our notes. "And they were both murdered on their birthday."

"Yes," I said, looking at my sheet of notes.

"Do we have any possible homunculus candidates?" He asked.

"There's only one," I said. "But I don't want to believe it."

"Who is it?" Ed asked.

"He was the head detective before he died. His name was Lee," I answered. "He was my mentor. The man who trained me to be the detective I am today."

"What makes you think that?" Ed asked, sifting through papers. "He died when you were fifteen, right?"

"Yes," I answered sifting through my own papers and pulling out a file. "But look at this." I handed him the paper

"A grave robbery?" Ed asked looking at it. "What does this-" He stopped as he read the name.

"What does it say, brother?" Al asked looking over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he read.

"His grave was robbed only a few months before the first murder," I said.

"That's still not enough," Ed said, mostly for my sake. He knew it was probably true.

"Yes there is, Ed," I said. "There was no sign of the grave robbery except for a few missing bones, and the remains of a transmutation circle. You wouldn't be able to recognize it unless you knew what it was. Which I did."

"How did you see it?" Ed asked.

"I was bringing flowers to his grave, as I do every day."

"Can we go check it out?"

"What do you plan to look for?"

"To see what was taken. This sheet doesn't say."

"Yeah, I guess we can," I said. I looked out the window. It was dark. "Perhaps we will meet this homunculus."

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "Come on, let's go, Al." They stood, and headed for the door, but stopped and looked back. "Um… where is the cemetery?"

I laughed. "Follow me." I stood and lead the way out of the house. We walked through the courtyard and down the street, where torch lamps lit the way every few feet. Few buildings. Some were three story buildings, that had a store or a clinic on the first floor and living residence on the second and third floors, other buildings were just houses; however, there weren't many buildings.

"This is our downtown area," I explained. "It's not much, but it's home."

"Yeah, it's a nice little place," Al said.

We past the last house and were in the country land now.

"How far is the cemetery?" Ed asked after a while of walking.

Just moments after he asked, we topped a hill and we saw the cemetery just feet from us.

"Oh, probably another five hundred miles," I joked.

We laughed as I led the way into the back of the cemetery, where there was a large stone door leading into a tomb.

"It's kind of big for a small town," Ed noticed.

"Yeah, well, he was important to us," I said. "We all pitched in for this. I could have made one myself, or just paid for it, but the people of this village refused. He was that important."

"I see," Ed said. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Look closely here," I said pointing at the door. "Look in the middle."

Ed and Al took a closer look at the door.

"Yeah, I see it," Ed said.

"Where, I don't…" Al trailed off staring at the door. "Oh, yeah, there it is."

"So an alchemist broke in here?" Ed asked, mostly to himself. "How long ago did you say?"

"It was a few months before the first murder, so nearly three months ago," I said.

"That's a long time," Al said.

"Yeah, enough time to create a homunculus1 ," Ed pointed out to Al.

"So now what?" Al asked.

"Do you want to take a look inside?" I asked, already prepared for their 'yes' as I searched for the tomb keys in my pocked2.

"Yeah, we might find some stuff down there," Ed said as I opened the tomb door.

"Someone should stay out here and watch the door," I said. "Just in case the homunculus shows up."

"I will," Al volunteered. "Ed's better at this detective stuff than me, and you need to show him the way around."

"Come in if someone comes," I said. "It's not confusing at all. Just one hall leading to the tomb room. Straight down, just follow the hall."

Al nodded, and Ed and I took off down the hall.

**A/N: It took me so long to update this that my teacher updated my grade! Woot! And I watched CoS! YUSH! WIIN! But now my grade in Physics dropped to a D because my teacher can't fucking teach. I haven't learned jack shit from her. I swear, of all the teachers laid off, she should have been one of them. But noooo! Because of stupid tenue (or however the hell you spell it) she gets to fucking stay. Okay, she fun in class, but what difference does it make IF SHE GIVES US 50 POINT TESTS ON MATERIAL WE DIDN'T LEARN! Oh, and our final is on Tuesday because the seniors leaver early. So we have a test on Friday (tomorrow) and on Tuesday. FUCK MY LIFE! God, this ff is going to have to be rated M because of my author notes now. Pardon my language, I swear when I'm pissed off. Anyways, as to the number(s) (I'm writing this as I write the story, so I don't know how many numbers I'll have):**

**1: I don't' know if that's technically correct, but it seems like adequate time. It seemed like it to Ed and Al's "mother" to change from the thing she was brought back as to a homunculus. **

**2: High tech, no? I don't' actually know if tombs have locks on them (I apologize, my knowledge of tombs is extremely limited. And by extremely, I mean non existent)**

**Alright, at any rate, sorry for the late update, I'll TRY and do better next time, but no promises. I feel this was a fair ending point. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, not much to say. Pray that I don't fail my physics final on Tuesday. Or no more driving for Darcy… MAJOR SADFACE!**

**Anyways, I don't own nuthin! Lol! Enjoy :D**

The hall was dark, we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yes, we were all going to die.

No, wait, I saw the torches that lit tomb room.

"Hold on," I said, stopping and putting my arm in front of Ed.

"What is it?"

"That room shouldn't be lit up," I explained. "I should have brought my own torch, we have a supply at the front, but I saw the light. I'm just now realizing that someone's in here. And something else that's strange that I didn't notice."

"Which is?"

"That transmutation circle shouldn't be fresh, not if it's the one from _three months _ago. It looked like it was made yesterday, or even today. Proceed with caution," I warned.

"Don't need to tell me twice," Ed said taking the lead.

I hesitated before following him. I had a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling.

I stopped at the entrance to the tomb room, but Ed didn't notice and proceeded

"Ed," I said in a whispered hiss.

"What?" He asked as he turned around.

Then, everything happened really fast.

A figure came lighting fast from the shadows and stopped behind Ed.

It was him. The Homunculus.

"Ed!" I cried. "Behind yo-"

But it was too late. Just was Ed was about to turn around, the homunculus grabbed him and threw him into a wall. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it certainly knocked the wind out of him. It was clear Ed wasn't about to fight.

And neither was I, for that matter. I wasn't about to be his next victim.

"So you figured it out, did you Tea?" He asked. "You figured out that I am your old mentor, and friend, Lee." He started to advance towards me, but I didn't move, for I was frozen to the spot. "But I am no longer him. I am Greed now." He stopped in front of me.

I finally found my words. "A-are you going to kill me?"

He started at me in confusion for a moment, and then burst into laughter. "Kill you? Of course not. My master has other plans for you."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Oh, I can't tell you that, my dear," he said. "It would ruin the surprise." His hand caressed my cheek, finally waking me up from my stupor.

I slapped his hand away as hard as I could. He started at me, then his hand, and then he laughed.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" He bellowed. "You pathetic little bitch!" Then one of his hands wrapped around my neck, and he held me at eye level (I'm about 5'4" and he's about 6 feet, so I'm a good few inches off the ground). He just glared at me as I gasped for breath, my hands clawing vigorously at his arm and hand, trying to make him let go, but to no avail. I was starting to lose consciousness, my vision was slowly fading in and out, and the last thing I saw before I passed out was his laughing face, but I couldn't hear anything but a ringing in my ears.

"Tea! Tea! Tea, wake up!"

My eyes fluttered open and I was coughing. I saw Ed's face, but something was wrong. That wasn't Ed's voice I was hearing. I looked around and, to my left, I saw Roy. He was hovering over me in concern. Or, at least he was while I was blacked out. But I caught him retreating, at least I knew he cared.

Behind him stood Hawkeye, Havoc Breda, Falman, and Fuery.

"Roy," I coughed. "Wh-what are you doing here?" I sat up slowly. "I thought you weren't allowed to interfere when it wasn't strictly military business.

"I'm not, it just so happens that as soon as you guys left, I, along with my team, was required to go on a vacation," he said.

"You planed this, didn't you, Mustang?" Ed demanded.

"Of course he didn't," I said. "I thought you would have known about the Mustang Luck. You did work under him, correct?"

"The what?" He asked dumbly.

"The Mustang Luck," I repeated. "But never mind that, we've got work to do. Where's Al?"

"I'm here," Al, said, coming from behind Ed.

"What happened when I passed out?" The question was directed to both of them.

"Well, he threw you at me just as I was about to get up and attack him, and then he left," Ed said.

"I barely had enough time hide," Al said. "But I heard him just in time."

"So no one besides me and Ed were hurt?" I asked.

Al nodded.

"That's good," I stood up. "Now all we have to do is figure out what he was doing here. But at least our suspicious were confirmed."

"I'm sorry, Tea," Roy said to the latter of my sentence. "But, as to what he was doing here, well…" He pointed behind him. "Take a look for yourself."

It was then that I noticed the bright orange flames and the heat coming from them. How did I _not_ notice that?

"Wait, he burned his remains?" I asked dumbfounded.

"It seems so," Ed said. Then he sniffed the air. "But something doesn't seem right."

"What are you smelling?" I asked, giving him a strange look.

"I'm just trying…" he trailed off still sniffing the air, but then gave up. "Never mind. Let's head back."

"Yeah, I guess we deserve some sleep," I said. "I presume you will be staying in the Mustang Manor?" I looked at Roy.

"If it isn't too much trouble," he said. "Wait, of course it isn't, it's _my_ house."

"No, you would have to actually _live_ in it for it to be _your_ house," I said glaring at him.

"Let's not start this, Tea," he said with a sigh. "At least I'm home."

I looked down. "Yeah, of course." Everyone stood in silence for a few moments. "Let's go." I turned on my heel and nearly stormed out of the tomb, but it was really more of a power walk kind of thing. I didn't even bother to look and see if everyone was behind me.

**A/N: It took me so long to write this and update this that I have already taken my physics final. Excuse me for a moment while I go check my grade -quickly opens the internet and checks grade-… -sighs with relief- it hasn't been graded yet. I have a sinking feeling that I failed. Well, anyways, I hope you enjoyed!**

**Also, this might be going on hold for a bit. I've kinda lost motivation to write, so I don't know how much I'll be able to write.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm so, so, so, soooooo sorry it's taken me so long to update. It's been so long that I've kind of forgotten what's going on, but I'll figure it out. Also, I reread my last chapter and found an error. The homunculus is Lee, not Drew, but I fixed it. Along with some grammatical errors. Anywhoooo….**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**That Same Night:**

Instead of going home, though, I went to where the first crime was; to where I first met him.

I stood there and sighed. "Why this town? And what 'plan' was he talking about?" I thought aloud to myself. "I can only think of one way to find out."

"It's too dangerous," a voice said behind me. I froze, afraid it was him. I slowly turned my head to see Ed.

"Oh, it's you." I sighed with relief. "How do you know what I'm thinking?" I turned around to face him.

"Because I'm a detective, too," he said. "Well, not really. Not like you, anyways. It wasn't my profession, but I had to solve a lot of mysteries when I was looking for the phil-… when I was working with the military."

"I see," I said. "Ed, you can't stop me. I need to do this. I need to stop him and his master. I don't care what happens to me, as long as I save my home."

"Tea, there must be another way," he said. "I- I like… uh, I like working with you. I mean, we're both smart, let's find a better way."

"There is no better way, Ed," I said.

He sighed. I slowly backed up against the wall and slid down it. I looked up at him. "This is a huge mess, but thank you for being here and trying your best."

He sat down next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Of course."

"But, Ed, we can't kill him. He's burned all of his remains," I said.

"But what if he hasn't?" Ed asked.

"Then going through with my plan will buy you time to figure that out. And if he hasn't, you'll have time to find them."

"But-" Ed Started.

"Put yourself in my shoes, Ed," I said. "What if this happened to your town? What would you do?"

"I…" he hesitated. "I would do what I had to to save them."

"Exactly," I said. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure."

"Don't try to stop me. And do your best to figure this out," I said.

"That's two favors," he replied. "But whatever. Sure."

"Thank you," I said.

He stood up and held out his hand. "Let's go."

I nodded and took his hand.

As soon as I stood up, he gave me a hug. "Just be careful. I don't want you to get hurt." He pulled back and we stared into each other's eyes and blushed. "I mean, the General would get pretty mad. After all, I'm supposed to look out for you." He was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah," I said, looking away. "Um, we should probably head home now..." he nodded, and we set off.

**A/N: Well, there ya go. A sweet chapter dedicated to Tea and Ed. The next chapter (should) be up soon. I started writing it, and it was actually supposed to be this chapter (meaning, it was supposed to be chapter seven) but then I was like "wait, I need to develop Tea and Ed's relationship. So that's what I did. The next chapter will be pretty intense, though (at least, I hope so. This'll be a good of my writing skills)**

**Sorry again for the late update. School, and work. Oh, yeah, and this weekend is Youmacoon, so I'm stoked for that! Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: OH MY GOD! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY! Holly fu…. Never mind. Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Still the same night…**

I sat at the kitchen table with Ed, Al, Riza, Roy, Havoc, Falman, Breda, and Fuery sat at the table.

"Well, now we know who the homunculus is, that leaves us two questions," I said, looking at everyone in turn. "Who brought him back, and why?"

"It couldn't be anyone from this town," Roy said. "I mean, you are positive it wasn't you, right Tea?"

"ROY! Shut up about that!" I yelled. "Unlike you, I love this town."

"I do love," he started. "Oh, never mind. I'm not starting this."

"You already did," I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Well, if it's no one from this town, then it has to be a traveling alchemist," Ed said. "So we need to find him or her."

"I think I have an idea," I said. I didn't wait for anyone to ask about it, and I didn't wait to see if Ed would go back on his promise and try to stop me. "He said that his 'Master' had other plans for me. I think we should figure out those plans."

"No," Roy said immediately. "It's too-"

"Too dangerous, I know, Roy," I said. "I don't like the plan either. But we need to figure out this mystery before any other girls lose their life. We'll set a trap and let him capture me. Roy, you and Ed will be hiding. When he captures me, you follow him. Okay?"

"I want to go, too!" All said.

"No," Ed and I said together. We looked at each other and I blushed a bit, but quickly looked away.

"It's too dangerous, Al," Ed said.

"I think he should go," Hawkeye said. "And I'll be going, too."

"Lieutenant, it's far too dangerous," Roy said.

"General, it's my job to protect you. Whether you like it or not, I'm coming," she said. "So, now the question is, how does Tea get caught?"

"Well, I've given-" I started, but was cut off by a pounding at the front door. I looked at the clock and it read midnight. "Who the hell is knocking at this late hour?"

I got up and headed to the door, with everyone behind me. I opened it to find Scotty there.

"Tea!"

"Let me guess, another murder?" I asked.

"Yeah, but this one is different. Hurry, I'll show you," he said, and he lead us to town.

On the way there, I whispered to Roy, Riza, Ed, and Al, "Do me a favor and stay hidden. This could be our chance. "Falman, Havoc, Breda, and Furey, you guys can come with me." Everyone nodded.

The crime scene was in the center of town, but it was, as Scotty said, different. The victim was a girl named Tera, but she wasn't thirty, she was eighteen, like me. And she wasn't slashed.

"This is the job of alchemy," I said. There was a branch of wood sticking out of the ground twisted around her body, and it was blatant that her body was broken in many different spots. I gulped; this was the most gruesome murder yet. "This couldn't have been him," I muttered under my breath. Then I spoke to my team, "Stay here guys, I'm going to investigate the area." I didn't wait for their response. I headed for the nearest building and used alchemy to climb to the roof.

I heard a laugh as soon as I walked to the center of the roof. Suddenly, he was behind me, his hands on my shoulders. "You're right, Tea, this one wasn't me. But it's your lucky night. I'm going to show you who did it." He laughed again.

"No you won't," I said. I tried to run away, but he grabbed me around the waist, causing me to involuntarily scream, which caused him to hit my head hard enough to knock me out.

I'm not sure what happened, but I was taken somewhere, and when I came to, I found I was lying on the ground with my arms and legs locked to the ground.

"Hey, Master! She's awake!" Lee called.

"Ah, very good," a woman's voice said. I looked left, and then right, and there she was, standing over me. She looked to be my age, and she had blonde hair and blue eyes. She knelt down next to me.

"Who are you?" I asked

"My name is Tanya," she said.

"What do you want with me and why are you doing this?" I asked.

"You'll find out what I want with you in a second, and as to why I'm doing this… well, why not? I plan to take over all of Amestris. And you, Tea, are going to help me." She smiled maliciously.

"Why would I do that?" I asked.

Her grin widened. "Because I'm going to turn you into a homunculus."

"What?" I asked, shocked. "No, that's impossible!"

"I guess we'll find out, won't we? I'm really not sure what will happen, to be honest," she said. "If you do turn into a homunculus, then, lucky me, if you die, I won't lose anything. So, shall we begin?"

No, I couldn't let her do this. I had to try and distract her. "I'm obviously not very important, otherwise, why would you have said you wouldn't lose anything if I died?"

"Oh, don't be fooled by that, my dear," she said. "You are _very_ important. I need your sharp eyes and quick brain; however, if you die, I won't lose anything. In fact, I'll gain a little bit. To have you gone and out of my hair, you don't know how happy that'll make me. Now, then, shall we begin?" I didn't say anything; I merely glared at her. "Greed!"

"Yes, Master?" Greed asked, appearing above her.

She looked up at him. "Get me my knife, please."

"Yes, Master," he replied. He disappeared, but returned shortly with a knife. He flipped it around so the blade was resting against his arm.

"Thank you," she said, taking the knife. "Now, deep breath, dear, this'll only hurt a lot!"

**A/N: CLIFF HANGER! Hope you liked it! The next chapter might take longer because I really wanna put a lot of blood in it, and it'll take me some time to do that.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Well, let's do this thing.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing (though in my free time, I like to pretend to own Ed -sigh-)**

She held the knife above my stomach, but it didn't look like she was going to carve anything. From the position of her knife and fist, it looked like she was just going stab me, which freaked me out. I started to try and struggle free.

"Stop! Stop! Please don't do this!" I began to beg hysterically. There was a voice in the back of my head telling me to remain calm, but I didn't listen. "STOP IT!"

"Oh, shut up!" She growled in annoyance. She didn't any time. She plunged the knife into my stomach. My scream was so shrill, I didn't even realize that it was me screaming. The more I struggled and thrashed, the more she carved my skin. Now she was just messing with me. And I knew she planned to kill me from the start.

I screamed even louder. "Help!"

"Shut up!" She slashed the knife from my temple and down my cheek to my chin, but that just made me scream more.

I'm going to die here, I thought to myself. All I could think about was Ed.

And then I began to hallucinate. Maybe it was because I was thinking about him, but Ed appeared in my line of sight, with is automail arm transmutated into a knife.

I must be hallucinating, I thought. Ed doesn't have automail… does he? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter much, since I'll be dead soon.

My vision started to blur, and I felt the blood from my stomach dripping down my side. I closed my eyes, and just thought of Ed, trying my best to ignore the pain, but it never went away. I felt someone by my feet and someone by my arms, but I was too week to open my eyes. I felt something at my stomach, too - cloth, maybe? - and then I felt arms under me.

"Ed, I'm getting her out of here!" Was that my brother? Probably. But he started to move, and that's when I completely passed out.

When I awoke, I was in a bed. And the bed was… where? Was it my room? I blinked a few times, and turned my head a bit. Yes, this was my room. I sat up; or rather, I tried to sit up. There was a sharp pain in my stomach, like a knife slicing it. And that's when I remembered. The homunculus, the murders, the knife cutting me…

"Tanya!" I cried out, feeling a pain through my stomach again. I gasped in pain.

"Lay down," a soft voice said. I felt a hand lightly touch my shoulder and push me back down.

I looked over. "Ed?" I asked.

He smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Nearly dead," I retorted.

He laughed lightly. "I bet. Take it easy, okay?"

"Yes, sir," I said with a grim smile on my face.

Just then the door burst open. "Tea?"

"Is that you, Roy?" I asked.

Before Ed could move, a white gloved hand appeared on his shoulder and shoved him aside.

"Tea…" His voice sounded relieved to see me alive, but sad that he couldn't have helped me more. "Tea… I'm sorry."

"Why? I'm alive, aren't I?" I asked. He merely nodded. "Why… why is that?"

"What?"

"Why… how am I alive?" I asked. "I lost so much blood."

"I guess… I guess we got there in time." It looked like he was about to cry.

"Roy?" I asked. "Are you… are you crying?"

"What? Of course not," he said, coughing and quickly turning away. "Why would I be crying?"

I was silent. "Is… is he dead?" I asked.

"I left as soon as I got you," Roy said. "Ed took care of the fighting."

We looked at Ed. He was silent for a moment before turning away from both of us. "No, he's gone. Both of them are. Sorry."

"It's okay, Ed," I said. "He left my town. That's what's important. But as soon as I'm better, I want to look for him. Him and Tanya."

"No," both Ed and Roy said at the same time.

"Tea, no, it's too dangerous," Roy said.

"You're not my father, Roy," I said, glaring at him. "I'm eighteen, I can make my own decisions."

"Clearly you cant'! You nearly died! And it's been a week since then!"

"A week?" I was shocked.

"Hey!" A new voice called at the door. "Both of you, out! She doesn't need you two yelling at her right now!"

The boys silently left, and Hana, the town doctor, appeared. She had shoulder length black hair, and violet eyes.

"You need sleep," she said. "I don't care if it's on your own free will or by drugs, but you will sleep."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I had a lot to think about, but I was so tired an week, it would have to wait for later.

After sleeping on and off for a few days, Hana finally "discharged" me (so to speak, I was still in my house).

"But don't push yourself, okay?" She warned. "You're still week. An injury like that takes time to recover, just count your blessings, you're still alive." And with that said, she gathered her stuff and left the manor.

"Our first order of business is to find a bone of the homunculus," I said.

"Tea, I told you-" Roy started, but I cut him off.

"And I told you, I don't care what you say or think, I'm doing this," I said. "Brother, it's too late for you to start trying to protect me. Now, as I was saying, we need to find a bone. Ed, come wit me to check the grave again. Roy, you and your team search their old hideout. While you're there, see if you can find any clues as to where they went." I didn't wait for him to reply. I grabbed Ed, and pulled him out the door.

**A/N: I felt this was an appropriate place to stop. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Review, please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, here we go, hope it wasn't too much of a wait, I was working on another fic, but I just finished it, so all my attention is on you guys (but I will be busy with school, senior year and all, so try and be patient, please). Anyways, as always, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Tea.**

Ed and I where in the grave again, where it all started. We were on opposite sides of the room, searching every corner we could. Unfortunately, there weren't many places for a bone to hide.

"I'll check in the coffin," I said, leaving the corner I was searching. A bone was not hiding in the pile of dust. I slowly pushed the coffin lid away, cautious about the dust that I was expecting to fly in my face; however, none came.

Oh, right, I thought. It's been opened recently.

Holding my breath, I looked in, and my heart sank.

Nothing.

I sighed.

"Any luck?" Ed asked.

I shook my head. "Let's hope Roy is luckier," I said, looking up at him.

"Yeah," Ed agreed. "Let's head back. Unless Mustang took Al, my brother's all alone."

"Oh, shit," I said, slapping my forehead. "I'm so sorry, I'm completely forgot about your brother."

"It's fine," Ed reassured me. "He can take care of himself, he's probably just bored. Let's go."

I nodded, and led the way back to the Manor.

The second the door was opened, Ed shot past me, calling out, "Al! We're back! Al!" Bu there was no response.

Ed an I exchanged looks, and immediately split up, looking through the whole house, hoping that he was asleep somewhere and didn't wake up at his brother's yelling.

"Al?" I called out in the study, and I did the same thing in the guest room, my room, and Roy's room. I headed back to the kitchen, unsuccessful. That's where I saw Ed, hunched over the kitchen table. It took me a moment, but I finally saw a piece of paper bellow him… a tear-stained piece of paper.

Concern flooded me. "Ed?" I asked, hurrying over to him, and placing my hand on his shoulder.

He simply pushed the paper over to me.

I looked down and read:

_We've taken the boy. If you ever wish to see him again, you will come to Resembool. We will wait for you there._

"Ed… I'm sorry," said, unsure of what to do.

"It's not your fault." He turned away from me.

"No, but I will get him back for you," I said.

"I don't need you to do this for me," he said coldly.

"No, you don't, I'm sorry," I said. "But I will help you."

We were silent for a moment.

"It's more than just Al," he finally said. "I have a friend there. Winry. She's in danger, too."

My heart sank when he mentioned her, but I ignored it. I didn't have time to waste on liking someone. "I'm sure she'll be fine. As long as you don't reveal her to Tanya, it should be okay." I meant it.

Just then, the front door opened. Ed and I snapped into a tense, ready position, but when Roy and his team came into the kitchen we relaxed.

"Well, we didn't find a trace of where they went, but we did find this." He held up a bone, definitely human. "Either they got sloppy or they wanted us to find it."

"Why would they want us to find it?" Breda asked.

"Because they're overconfident," Roy said.

Duh. "Well, let's have it analyzed. To make sure it's his."

Everyone agreed.

"Um, well, we know where they are," I said.

"What? Where?" Falman asked.

I glanced at Ed, who had turned away. I handed Roy the note, and it was quickly passed between everyone.

"Oh, Ed, I'm sorry," Riza said sympathetically.

"What's it matter?" Ed asked.

"Hey, kid, don't think like that," Havoc said.

"Why? We're getting him back," Ed said, turning to face everyone. "And we'll get him back _before_ anything happens to him."

"That's the Ed I know," Roy said. "When are we leaving."

"Tomorrow," Ed said. And that was that.

**The Next Morning:**

I was packed, and was just finishing telling my servants that they could take a two month long vacation. I was hoping the job wouldn't take that long, but I told them if I wasn't hope when they got back, that they could just sort of relax. And if I got home before their two months were up, well, I could take care of myself.

"You're not coming," Roy said from behind me.

"Roy, not now," I said,

I was wearing black short shorts as apposed to my regular black mini skirt, but I still had on a black tank top. I now added to the outfit a white jacket, and my long black hair was pulled up in a pony tail. My traveling outfit when I actually planed my trips.

"Roy, can you tell me about this Winry girl?" I asked. "Ed mentioned her last night, but I didn't want to press for details. Is she… is she his girlfriend?"

"What's it matter to you?" Roy asked teasingly, though I was sure he new, he just wanted the satisfaction of seeing me blush and turn away. But he let it go. "Not as far as I know, but they both certainly have feelings for each other. Ed just hasn't admitted it yet."

"Oh." I looked at the ground, hoping the disappointment didn't sound in my voice.

"But he also has feelings for you." I felt his hand on my should, and it was clear he could see right through me.

"You guys ready?" Riza stuck her head in the room.

Without looking away from Roy, I said, "Yeah. I'm ready."

"Then let's go, you little brat," Roy said. He ruffled my hair, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and dragged me through the house and out the door.

We headed to the train station (Roy had let go of me by then, drifting over to Riza), no humor or smiles in the air. We had business to take care of.

**A/N: Again, I hope you didn't have to wait too long, and sorry if the chapter is too short. Hope you liked it! Thank you for reading, and please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here we go again. Let's do this.**

I guess Ed had written Winry telling her he was on his way home (and bringing some friends because she didn't seem to shocked to see six people following him off the train, though she did give me a suspicious look) because the second he got off, she practically attacked him with a hug.

I took this time to excuse myself, for two reason, they being one of them. "I'm going to go look around." That was the other reason.

On the train, Ed had drawn me a rough map of Resembool. Where Winry's house was, where what remained of Ed's house was, and other important places.

I decided to go to Ed's place first.

What a mess, I though. Why did she even come here? It makes no sense! God, I've even forgotten her goal!

_I'm the start of a new generation of homunculi_. The words of Lee, my old mentor the first homunculus that I had ever met, echoed in my head.

So, there's that, I thought. But why? To take over the world? To kill old enemies?

I was confused, so confused, and that didn't happen often.

I leaned back against a tree, sank down, and put my hands to my head.

What to do, what to do.

I sighed, and, after an hour or so, decided to head to the Rockbell house. As I approached, I could smell beef stew cooking, and I also heard yelling.

"Edward! If you just drank your milk, you'd be taller, you know!" It sounded like the girl who had hugged him when he got of the train, meaning it must be Winry.

Strange, I thought. Why would he like someone who yelled at him.

I shook my head. She probably doesn't yell at him that much.

Before I could get up to the stairs, a dog started barking at my. I looked over to the sound to see a dog with an automail leg running towards me.

"Whoa," I said, instinctively taking a step back, but also putting my hand out to greet the dog. He put his paws up on my stomach, almost knocking me down, but I managed to keep my balance.

I knelt down in front of the dog, letting him lick my face as I stroked his head.

"Den! Who are you barking at?" Came an old woman's voice. "Who are you?" She asked when se saw me. I looked up at her, this must be Pinako Rockbell.

I stood up, made my way to her, and held out my hand.. "Sorry, ma'am, I'm Tea Mustang. Roy's sister," I introduced, and we shook.

"Nice to meet you," she said. "Come on in."

I followed her into the kitchen see Ed, Winry, and Roy at the table. Everyone else was spread out around the room due to the fact that there were four chairs and nine people.

Pinako filled a bowl with stew and handed it to me. "You may sit at the table."

"What? Oh, no, no, I'm fine standing, thanks," I said.

The room was silent as I took my place on a wall, and we all ate our food.

"So," Winry said. "Where were you?"

"Um, at Ed's old house," I said.

"Why?" She sounded suspicious. What did she think I would find at a burned down house?

"I was investigating."

"What did you find?" She asked, still suspicious.

"Burned wood." There was an awkward, quiet laugh from the room before it grew silent again. Everyone could feel the tension in the room. "But nothing… nothing to find Al." I looked Ed in the eye. "I will find him. I promise."

"He's my brother, you don't have to do that," he said. "Besides, it's not like this homunculus is your fault."

"True as that is," I said. "I still feel responsible."

"You shouldn't," he said, looking at his stew and stirring it around with his spoon.

With that, I pushed away from the wall and turned to Pinako. "Where should I put this?"

"But you've barely touched it," she protested.

I shrugged. "Lost my apatite."

She took my bowl, and said I'd be sharing a room with Winry and Riza. I nodded and followed her directions to the room.

Once there, I sat on a bed and stared out the window until Winry and Riza came up and got into bed. Then, I sat and stared for the rest of the night.

Absolutely none of this made sense.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. And sorry it's so short. I wanted to finish this before I went to Ohayocon this weekend. I have one more final before I start my last (and, I must say, shitty looking) final semester in high school. I'm hoping I can switch statistics out for a class I've already taken. No way in hell I want to take statistics. Not happening. But, unfortunately, it is. GAH! I wanted to ENJOY my last semester in high school, but I guess not.**

**Anyways, sorry for the rant, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please, please, PLEASE review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Not much to say here. So, I don't own anything except Tea (same for last chapter). Enjoy!**

"Ed, where are you going?" I asked. It was the break of dawn, and Ed had just stepped off the front porch.

"To find Al," he said, then, with a pointed look at me, added, "Alone."

I gave a bitter laugh. "Like hell you are." I walked down the steps of the porch and stood next to him. "Look, Ed. I want to help you find Al, but it's more than that. I need to get even with this bitch."

He looked at me, then gave a short laugh. Looking away, he said, "I suppose you do. Well, let's get going. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

By the time the sun had reached it's highest point in the sky, we still hadn't found anything.

"God dammit!" Ed shouted, slamming his fist into a tree. "I thought they _wanted_ us to find them!"

"We will find them, Ed," I said. "We just need to be patient."

"Patient for what? For them to kill Al?" He demanded, turning on me. "For them to kill some innocent girl from _my _home town.? I don't think so!"

"Ed," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I won't let that happen. We're going to figure this out. I know they want us to, but they're not going to let us find them so easily."

"Well, do have a better place for us to look?" He asked.

"Since I don't know your town very well, no, I don't." He started to say something, but I held up my finger to silence him. "But I have an idea."

"Which is?"

"Are there any caves? Or even better, underground caverns?" I asked.

"Yeah, some caves, why?" Then the answer hit him. "Oh! Because they were in an underground hideout. But since that's not available to them here, they needed something secluded and far away from people to stay hidden."

"How many caves are there?"

"Well, technically one, but it's a huge maze. We had best start exploring them if we want to make some progress."

I nodded and we headed off.

It was dark in the cave, and I had lost all sense of time, but it felt like a few hours had past and we hadn't made any progress.

"Hey, Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"What's, um, what's going on between you and Winry?" I could practically feel is body tense up.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, she likes you, right?"

"Does it matter?"

"She likes you, right?" I repeated.

"I don't know, I guess so."

"You don't even know? How oblivious are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ed, she's head over heals for you," I said. "That's why she takes such good care of your automail."

"She's my friend, of course she cares," Ed replied.

"She puts so much detail into the automail, she works really hard on it to make sure it's right height and strength. She goes far beyond what you should expect from a friend. And she doesn't just care about your automail. She cares about you. She puts all that effort into her work so that you can protect yourself and come home safely. You really never noticed?"

"I never had time to," Ed said. "I was busy trying to fix what I'd created."

"You mean what happened to you and Al?"

"Yeah, only, Al was going to get his body back," he said. "I was fine with my automail arm and leg."

"He's going to be okay, Ed," I said. I looked over at him. I plopped down on the floor to take a break. "I don't think they want him dead. If they did, they would have killed him already."

"I just wish I knew what they wanted," he said in exasperation, sitting down next to me.

"I told you, didn't I? They wanted to create a new breed of homunculi. I guess it's a world domination thing."

"Right," he said. "But then why capture Al?"

"I don't know. You fought homunculi, you know more about them than me," I said.

Ed sighed and looked down. A moment later, his head snapped back up. "Wait a minute. There was one homunculi, the second Greed, who was actually created within a living person."

"Like what Tanya tried to do to me?" I asked.

"Sort of, only, if that was her goal, she was doing it wrong. My friend Ling was a prince from the Xing country. He came to Amestris seeking the philosophers stone in order to save his king. Unfortunately for him, the guy who was behind most of the homunculi creations back when I was in the military, took an interest in him, I guess. I'm not entirely sure on the part, but this guy, the homunculi called him 'Father', sort of created Greed in Ling. Ling was still his own person, but Greed would sometimes take over his body sometimes."

"Interesting," I mused. "But… Do you think she'll try that with Al?"

"I… I don't know." He paused. "Either way, we need to find him."

"That won't be too hard," a new voice said, causing me and Ed to spring up, ready for a fight. We looked around until we saw Greed standing against a wall rather nonchalantly, a lazy grin on his face. "Come with me, and you might just get to see something interesting happen."

"We're not here to play games," Ed said.

"Neither am I," Greed said, not losing his nonchalant air.

"Where's my brother?" Ed demanded.

"Come with me and find out." With that said, he turned and left, not waiting to see if we were following.

Ed and I exchanged glances and then hurried to follow him.

We walked down a tunnel that Ed and I had been down already, but he stopped halfway down and pulled a lever hidden between rocks.

"You're kidding me! How did we miss that?" I cried out with out thinking.

"It was hidden," Ed pointed out, but he seamed annoyed that he missed it, too.

I let it drop, though. This wasn't the time.

We walked a bit further before the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. With her back turned to us, Tanya with her blonde hair styled in a fancy up-do that seemed completely inappropriate for a cave. She had on a white dress that had a hoop skirt. My attention was quickly drawn away by someone shouting, though.

"Brother!"

"Al!" Ed cried out, taking a few steps forward, only to be stopped by Greed.

"Not so fast, kid," he said, arm stretched out in front of Ed.

"Edward Elric," Tanya said, back still facing us. "I hear you're quit the alchemist." She turned around and smiled at him.

"What of it?"

"I need your help," she said simply.

"Not in a million years!"

"Ah, well, that's too bad for your brother." Underneath where Al was hanging from the ceiling, the floor opened to reveal a boiling pit of lava.

"What do you need from me?" Ed asked, neither agreeing or refusing to help her.

"You know how Van Hohenheim created a homunculus within an living person, no?"

"I know that he did it, and I suppose I have a general idea of how he did it, but I doubt I could recreate it," Ed said. "And even if I could, I wouldn't want to."

"You will if you don't want your brother burning to his death," she said.

There really wasn't a choice for Ed. He glared at Tanya until he realized this, and his shoulders slumped in desperation. Looking at the ground, he hesitantly spoke. 'I… I…"

"Hold on!" I said. What the hell was I doing? "I have a score to settle with you. Right now. If I win, you let Al go, and you surrender yourself to the military."

"Like I would agree to that?" She said laughing, but then cocked her head as if actually considering it. "You know what, I do agree to that."

"Master? Why?" Greed asked in shock.

"Shut up," she said coldly, glaring at him, but she quickly returned her gaze to me. "Well, it's your battle. Make the rules, and we'll start."

"Anything goes. Alchemy, hand to hand, anything," I said.

"Fine then. Ready when you are."

I hesitated a moment, but it was too late to take this back. I was about to get my ass handed to me. And possibly get killed. I wondered if she had needed me at all. I hoped so, at least that would save me my life. For the moment. I sighed. "Begin!"

In a flash (literally) there was a spear of rock flying towards my face. I quickly side stepped just in time to see the spear whisk past my face.

"Nice move," Tanya's dry voice said. I looked over to see she had a spear in her hand and she was running towards me. I jumped out of the way just as she was about to hit me, but, despite my best efforts, she still managed to scrape my arm. I winced, and saw blood trailing down my arm.

I picked myself up and used alchemy to create my own stone spear. I knew I couldn't win, but I hoped Ed was taking out Greed and saving Al.

The fight continued with us using our stone spears as swords. Surprising, they didn't break.

Well, not until after a good swing from Tanya. My spear shattered, and I stumbled back.

"It's over, girl," she said with a malicious grin. "And I promise that your death will just as painful as your torture was. Maybe even more."

I had to try and stall her. I wasn't entirely sure how long this fight had lasted, but I wanted to buy Ed as much time as possible. "Don't you still need me?"

"With an Alchemist like Elric? Why would I need you?" She asked. "I never needed you anyways, I just used you to get to Elric. He's a great alchemist, and cute on top of that. The two of us will rule together forever!"

"In your dreams, bitch!" Ed yelled.

"Wha-" but her words turned into a scream as Ed's automail arm (changed into a knife with alchemy) was placed at her neck. "You're done here."

I fell to the floor, with a sigh of relief, exhausted from running from her, and in pain from the cuts I had gotten from her. I must not have noticed them from the adrenalin.

"You can't do this!" She screeched, trying to get away from Ed. "Greed! Greed! Get your ass over here!"

"He's not going to help you. I killed him," Ed said.

"What? But how?" She was completely hysterical.

"Maybe you shouldn't have been so over confident to have left his bone sitting in your old hideout."

Al came over and held out his hand to me. "Let's get out of here." I nodded, taking his hand and following Ed and Tanya out.

We were greeted by a worried Roy and Winry when we got back. I suppose it was only natural since we had been gone all day. I was vaguely aware that Roy had called the others out to take Tanya into custody as I collapsed into Roy's arms. I'm not sure how, but Al managed to have gotten me back with out collapsing under my weight.

The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Winry first hitting Ed's head with a wrench and then hugging him. I went limp in my brother's arm's and everything was black.

**A/N: So I hope this was long enough, and I think there's going to be one more chapter. I hope I'm not ending this too soon, because that isn't my goal. If you guys think I need more, please, feel free to yell at me (nicely) and I'll try and add more. The last thing I want is to abruptly end this. I could always add a Roy/Riza chapter for the hell of it, even if it's not entirely relevant. Let me know what you guys think! And I'm sorry this took so long to update. Senior year and all.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: This is the last chapter, sorry for the late update, I wanted to start the sequel first. But it's ready now! Well, the first few chapter is.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.**

**Riza's POV:**

"General?" I ask, slowly slipping into Tea's room with a tray of stew, bread, and water for him.

"Thank you, Hawkeye," he said, not looking away from the bed.

"Sir, it's been three days," I said, sitting on the bed next to him and across from Tea. "She's not going to wake up just by you staring at her."

"I want to be here for her," he replied.

"That won't make up for all the times you _haven't_ been there for her," I said, knowing that that was his ultimate goal.

"But it's a start." I noticed a shudder in his body, and then the rigid pose he had worked hard to keep for three days straight collapsed as he buried his head in his hands. I was startled at first, but then put my hand on his back. When it came to protecting him, or anyone I cared about, I would kill in a second. But comforting people? I was as lost as a blind woman, and I think she'd do a better job than me when it comes to comforting.

"Don't beat yourself up over this, sir," I said, sounding calmer than I felt.

"It's my fault she's lived alone almost her whole life. It's my fault she could die any day now."

"And how is it your fault?"

"If I had been around more, she would have been more willing to come to me for help, she would have listened to me when I told her to not do something because it was too dangerous. I should never have left."

"You had to leave, Roy," I said, accidentally losing the honorific. "It was your way of dealing with the death of your parents."

"No, it was my way of running away."

I sighed, and stood up. "General, get up."

Roy looked up, and it was obvious he had been crying. "I can't leave her."

"Get up. You need to get out of this room," I said fiercely. But then I softened my tone. "She'll be fine." I smiled and held out my hand. "Besides, you have some business to take care of. We shouldn't trouble Mrs. Rockbell with Tanya any longer."

"Oh, shit," Roy said, and he took my hand. "I completely forgot about her."

"Then let's go take care of business, sir," I said, assuming the position of his most trusted subordinate. I led him outside to a makeshift prison Ed had helped make, and we found Havoc, Breda, and Ed standing guard. I stepped aside to let Roy pass, noticing him putting his gloves on.

"Alright, kid, open it up, and we'll be ready for a fight," Roy said.

"There won't be a fight," Ed said. "I've got her restrained pretty well."

"Either way," Roy said. "Better safe than sorry."

Ed shrugged, and used alchemy to open the make-shift jail cell. There sat Tanya, encased in rock, except for her head. "You weren't kidding, kid." Roy relaxed a bit, but kept his gloves on. "Well, Tanya, needless to say, you're under arrest. You won't have a trial, either. You will either spend your life in prison, or be executed."

"Just kill me now, then," she said with a glare.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice," Roy said, though he didn't sound very apologetic. He gave a lopsided grin. "Your fate will be decided at military headquarters, where the Fuhrer and other Generals will decide your fate."

"And when will I be taken there?"

"When we clean up your mess," Roy said. "Speaking of which, I need to know what exactly you did here."

Tanya gave a harsh, cold laugh. "Like I would tell you. My life might soon be over, but I'll leave my mark on this damned land."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Tanya shrugged, and said no more.

"Listen, you can tell me now, or you can wait until we get you back to headquarters, where I'll hand you over to the interrogation squad, and that won't be pleasant."

"I'll take my chances," Tanya said with a smile.

Roy sighed, and then looked at Ed. "I'm done here. The interrogators can kill her for all I care."

Ed nodded, and used alchemy to restore the prison walls around her as Roy walked away. I nodded a goodbye and Havoc, Breda, and Ed before I turned and followed Roy.

Before he had a chance to go back and waste away in his sister's room, I grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the house.

"Hawkeye, what are you doing?" He demanded.

"Distracting you." After we were a good distance away from the house, I let go of his arm.

"Riza," he said. I looked up, surprised he was using my first name.

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

He laughed. "You're always so formal."

"It's my job, sir," I replied, matter-of-factly.

Without meaning to, we had ended at Ed's old house.

Placing his hands on my shoulders, he pinned me against a tree. "You need to loosen up, Riza."

"Sir, I…" I trailed off. Finding my voice, I tried again. "Sir, I don't think this is very appropriate." But, of course, Roy didn't listen. Instead, he leaned down, and lightly kissed me on the lips.

"I think you need to loosen up, Riza," Roy said, kissing me again, deeper this time.

"You know, maybe we should go back to check on your sister," I said with a smile when we parted, but I leaned up to kiss him myself.

After a while, we sat down on the ground, me leaning against his chest, and him with his arm around me. It was about time this happened, but even as I enjoyed it, a voice at in the back of my head kept saying it was wrong; that I had to stay focused so that I could save him if I needed to. But after telling it this is what he needed, it quickly vanished.

I'm not sure how much time had passed when we heard laughter by us. We looked up, startled. We tensed, and I reached for my gun, and I felt Roy reach for one of his gloves, but we relaxed when we saw Havoc standing there.

"Took you guys long enough to make this happen," he said, snickering some more.

"What do you want, Havoc?" Roy asked, annoyed.

"Your sister's up," he replied.

I had never seen Roy react so fast. He was up in a matter of seconds, dragging me with him because his arm was still around me.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" With that said, we were jogging back towards the Rockbell house.

**Tea's POV:**

Havoc had come to check on me when my eyes had fluttered open, and he told me not to go back to sleep, and that he was getting Roy. Great. Just what I needed.

I sighed. My head hurt. Well, my whole body did, really.

I waited there, sitting up, not wanting to talk to Roy, but staying awake, anyways, knowing it was best for me. Who knows, I could go back to sleep and not wake up again, though I doubted that would happen. Still, I stayed awake.

Before long, I heard frantic footsteps flying up the stairs, and I braced myself to be yelled at for being stupid.

Instead, Roy burst through the room and hugged me. I was so shocked that I hugged him back.

"Ed told me what you did for him, and for Al. That was so brave, I'm so proud of you," he said, not releasing me from his hug.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He let go and looked at me, puzzled. "Who the hell are you and what did you do with Roy Mustang?" And God forbid, he actually laughed. "I'm serious, where's my brother that doesn't care?"

"Tea, I've always cared," he said, giving me a meaningful look. "I'm so sorry I ran away. I was just as scared as you were, but that's not excuse. I should have been there for you. I'm your older brother, and-"

"Exactly, you're my older brother, not my father," I said. "I learned to cope, just as you have. I'll admit, I was angry at you, but you being here for me, and caring, well, I'm glad. I'm ready to forgive you."

He hugged me again, and I returned it.

"But, now that that's over," Roy said, pulling back. "How could you be so stupid? Putting yourself in danger like that!"

"Roy!" I exclaimed. "I had no choice! Al could have died!"

"You could have to!"

"Well, Al has more to live for than me, he's younger." It was flawed logic, and it was really only fair for old people to say that, but it was all I had.

"What the hell kind of logic is that?"

"I don't know! I'm not thinking straight right now!" I shouted back. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. "Look, I did what I had to. I felt partially responsible for Al's abduction. I had to do something." I looked down at the bed.

"I know, and I'm sorry for yelling at you," he said. He put his hand on my shoulder. "But someone's got to look out for you, right?"

I looked up and smiled at him.

There was a sound outside, and Roy looked back. "I think you have another visitor." He smiled, and stood up to reveal Ed.

Roy left the room, and left us alone.

We sat in silence for a few moments.

Ed was staring at the floor, and I was watching him intently. Finally, he looked up and said, "Thanks. For allowing me to save Al. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Sure you could have," I said. "You used to be a State Alchemist. A damn good one, as I heard it, and pretty resourceful, too."

"There's only so much one person can do, though," he said. "I almost always had help, even when I pushed everyone away." He sighed.

I knew what I wanted to ask him, but I didn't know how to. So I decided the blunt way works best. "Do you love Winry?"

"What?" He asked.

"Do you love Winry?" I annunciated each word, and looked him dead in the eye, waiting for his response.

**A/N: I debated about making this longer, but decided to leave you guys hanging. But there will be a sequel. Hope you liked it!**


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